Review: How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Elizabeth Fields

Received from author.
Published: May 10, 2012
How I Spent My Summer VacationPages: 181
Amazon - Goodreads

  Fed up with the small town day to day in Farber, Texas, high school graduates, L and her best friend, Leah, have made a vow to make this summer the best summer of their lives. With little direction and no real plan, the summer, unfortunately, seems to be shaping up like any other. That is until their favorite band of all time, Brick Party Sundae, announces the Texas leg of their tour. L and Leah decide there couldn't be a more epic way to spend the summer than by following BPS around Texas.

As they search for the best time of their lives, they find much more than they bargained for along the way. Join L and Leah on their journey as they take a walk on the wild side, discover life outside of Farber, learn about themselves, and meet new sides of each other they've never seen before. Can their friendship withstand the most epic summer of all time? No matter what happens, they'll never forget how they spent their summer vacation.

Laverne, L for short, and her best friend Leah decide that they want to have an unforgettable summer vacation before they start college in the Fall. What's a better way to do that than seeing their all time favorite band, Brick Party Sundae, perform all over Texas?!

I'm going to be totally honest, I desperately wanted to do just what L and Leah did. Follow my favorite band around the Midwest with my best friend. Unfortunately that definitely didn't happen so I was so excited I could vicariously live out my dream through L.

I love that Fields made this book believable by using characters that needed to grow and situations that were less than perfect to be in. It felt like I was reading about real life, which was awesome! Also, I love when the Leah and L fan-girled over the band, totally could relate to that!

I loved that I didn't like L's best friend Leah during parts of the book. We've all had a friend like Leah, one you want to protect, but that does things that make protecting her almost impossible to do. A friend that doesn't always think about the outcome of her actions and that doesn't always treat you the greatest, but she's still your friend. I loved that I could relate to L and enjoyed where their friendship was at the end of the book.

My favorite part of the book was the focus on how sometimes things don't always turn out as you plan and the people you idolize are just that, people, like everyone else.

Awesome Quote:
"...I know I want to make a real life for myself. I want it to be interesting and fun and meaningful and I'm excited to see when the road takes me."

Characters: 3/5
Creativity: 4/5
Voice: 4/5
Plot: 3/5
Impact: 3/5
Overall: 4/5

Though a bit short, How I Spent My Summer Vacation is a fast paced read with a realistic narrator you can't help but relate to. Fields' did a good job at capturing a 'teen' voice and creating situations that young adults tend to face. How I Spent My Summer Vacation is an awesome Summertime read full of fun, music and a touch of staying true to yourself.


  1. Great review! I've always wanted to do that too! I will definitely check out this one.

    1. I think you'll really like it!
      If you end up reading it, you totally need to let me know what you think :)

  2. Thats great thing about books-we can live through our characters!
    Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog